Future  of  Christ’s  Kingdom. 


REV.  JOHN  HALL,  D.D. 


THE  FUTURE  OF  CHRIST’S  KINGDOM. 


EPvMON 


PREACHED  FOR 


The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 


OF  THt 

IJrfsbgtemn  djntrdj, 

MAY  3 d,  1868. 


IN  THE 


5TH  Avenue  & 19TH  Street  Presbyterian  Church 

j^EW  yo^K. 


BY 

REV.  JOHN  HALL,  D.  D., 

MINISTER  OF  SAID  CHURCH. 


PUBLISHED  AT  THE  BEQUEST  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


NEW  YORK: 

MISSION  HOUSE,  23  CENTRE  STREET. 

1 868. 


E.  O.  Jlnkins,  Printer  and  Stereottter, 
20  North  William  Street,  N.  T.  < 


Cju  Jfulurc  of  Christ’s  Jlinghom. 


A SERMON. 

Isaiah,  ii.  1,  5 . 

The  word  that  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amoz  saw  concerning  Judah  and  Jerusalem.  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house  shall  be  es- 
tablished in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills  ; and  all  na- 
tions shall  flow  unto  it : And  many  people  shall  go  and  say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up 
to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ; and  he  will  teach  us 
of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths : for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and 
the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  And  he  shall  judge  among  the  nations,  and  shall 
rebuke  many  people;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plow-shares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks : nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more.  0 house  of  Jacob,  come  ye,  and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord. 


To  the  botanist  even  a hedge-row  is  full  of  interest.  To  a 
geologist  a barren  crag  is  eloquent.  To  a zoologist  any,  even 
the  lowliest,  forms  of  life  are  suggestive.  And  to  a Bible-lov- 
ing man  all  nature  is  full  of  sacred  associations.  The  sun 
above  him  may  recall  the  “sun  of  righteousness  the  trees, 
the  saints  of  God,  “ trees  of  righteousness,  the  planting  of  the 
Lord  ; ” the  stars  suggest  the  future  of  diligent  Christian  labor- 
ers who  shall  shine  for  ever  ; and  the  hills  “ rock-ribbed  and 
ancient  as  the  sun”  may  well  remind  him  of  the  kingdom  of 
his  Master  “ the  mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house,”  to  which  is  pro- 
mised establishment  “ upon  the  top  of  the  mountains.” 

From  its  vast  size  and  solid  character  a mountain  may  well 
stand  for  any  great  institution.  It  represents  what  is  enduring, 
lofty,  and  fixed.  Such  a representation  is  warranted  by  the 
nature  of  things.  “ David  perceived  ” says  the  sacred  writer, 
“ that  the  Lord  had  exalted  his  kingdom.”  He  might  therefore 
properly  enough  say,  “ Thou  didst  make  my  mountain  to  stand 
strong.”  (Psalms  xxx.  7.)  The  u mountains  shaking  with  the 


4 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

swelling  of  the  sea  ” of  Psalm  xlvi.  3 are  explained  in  verse  6, 
after  the  fashion  of  Hebrew  poetry,  to  be  “kingdoms  moved.” 
Hence  Babylon  becomes  in  Jeremiah  li.  25:  “a  destroying 
mountain.”  These  Old  Testament  writers  find  the  symbols  of 
which  the  New  Testament  writers  make  use  ; and  hence  the  fre- 
quent use  of  mountains  in  this  sense  in  the  book  of  Revelation. 
There  are  many  such  “mountains”  in  the  world — old  in- 
stitutions, kingdoms,  churches,  idolatries,  that  have  grown 
with  time  and  apparently  acquired  permanent  stability. 
TherMs  one  that  boasts  a divine  origin — for  the  Church  is  not 
a mere  voluntary  society — and  with  which  the  Lord’s  honor  is 
especially  connected.  Nebuchadnezzar  saw  in  his  dream  a lit- 
tle stone,  cut  out  without  hands,  gradually  expand  into  a great 
mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth.  (Dan.  ii.  45.)  That  moun- 
tain is  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  set  up  on  the  broken 
fragments  of  the  four  great  empires  and  established  in  the  time 
of  the  last  of  them.  The  Lord’s  temple  was  built  upon  Mount 
Zion — which  came  to  be  called  “ the  holy  mountain.”  It 
stands  therefore  with  great  propriety  for  Christ's  kingdom,  and 
to  represent  the  elevation  of  Christ’s  kingdom  above  all  human 
institutions  no  language  could  be  more  apt  or  expressive  than 
this,  “The  mountain  of  the  Lord’s  house  shall  be  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains.” 

A mountain  is  in  itself  an  outstanding  and  prominent  object 
— a landmark  in  the  world  which  easily  arrests  the  eye  and  at- 
tracts attention  ; and  by  far  the  most  prominent  institution  in 
the  world  is  Christ’s  kingdom.  It  has  done  more  to  attract 
notice,  give  character  to  men,  and  make  history,  than  any 
other  agency  in  the  world. 

A mountain  catches  the  clouds,  arrests  the  vapors,  and  draws 
them  down  in  rain  upon  the  earth.  They  fall  and  form  the 
springs  in  the  hillsides — where  great  rivers  take  their  rise  and 
whence  they  set  out  in  their  beneficent  race  ; and  so  the  Church 
of  God  attracts  to  itself  divine  influences  which  flow  forth  from 
it  and  bless  the  nations.  Enlightenment,  liberty,  civilization, 
arc  among  the  indirect  blessings  the  world  enjoys  through  the 
kingdom  of  Christ. 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 


Mountains  resting  on  the  earth,  and  piercing  the  sky  with 
their  peaks,  whose  heads  are  lost  amid  the  clouds,  seem  to 
bind  heaven  and  earth  together  ; and  so  the  Church  of  God  is 
the  link  of  connection  between  the  earth  and  heaven.  God 
keeps  up  the  world  because  his  Church  is  in  it.  His  people  on 
earth  by  their  praises,  prayers,  and  services  bind  the  earth  to 
heaven.  Mountains  greatly  affect  the  climate  of  any  country, 
sheltering,  or  chilling,  as  the  case  may  be  ; and  the  moral  at- 
mosphere of  any  land  may  be  determined  from  the  extent  to 
which  the  Church  of  Christ  is  in  it. 

Now  it  is  said  that  this  institution,  described  as  a mountain, 
shall  not  merely  rise,  but  rise  on  the  top  of  all  other  moun- 
tains, that  is,  rival  mountains — towering  over  them  all — higher 
than  the  highest  of  them.  The  nations  shall  be  like  broad 
streams  of  flowing  water  making  their  way  thereto — “all  nations 
shall  flow  unto  it.”  The  flgure  is  mixed  and  bold,  but  suggestive. 
Rivers,  according  to  nature’s  course,  flow  down  from  the  hills. 
But  this  process  is  something  above  and  beyond  nature.  This 
is  by  Divine  and  sovereign  grace.  No  kingdom  on  natural  and 
common  principles  ever  was  founded  as  Christ’s  was — in  the 
crucilixion  of  its  sovereign.  The  whole  history  of  its  progress 
is  one  of  superiority  to  natural  and  common  laws.  That  Gali- 
lean fishermen  should  move  the  world,  and  that  their  cause 
should  triumph  over  Grecian  philosophy  and  religion,  and  over 
Roman  arms,  is  not  a thing  that  could  have  been  foreseen  or 
predicted.  As  unlikely  as  that  rivers  should  flow  to  the  tops  of 
the  hills,  so  unlikely  was  it  that  they  should  ever  have  gained 
a place  of  commanding  influence. 

And  the  same  thing  is  true  of  the  turning  of  the  soul  to  the 
Lord.  “ The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God.”  As  likely  as 
the  voluntary  ascending  of  a stone,  or  the  climbing  of  a hill  by 
a river,  is  the  turning  of  the  heart  to  the  Lord  by  any  act  of 
its  own.  “By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith,  and  that  not 
of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God.” 

And  so  when  we  are  calculating  how  long  it  will  require  (at 
the  present  rate  of  progress)  for  the  world  to  be  evangelized, 
we  are  losing  our  time.  We  have  no  data  on  which  to  proceed. 


6 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 


The  thing  shall  be  done,  for  the  Lord  has  said  it,  and  in  such 
ways  as  human  foresight  could  never  have  anticipated  or  pro- 
vided. How  long  it  will  require  for  the  French  to  complete 
their  Suez  Canal  is  a fair  subject  for  calculation.  The  time  may 
be  indicated  with  probable  accuracy  when  at  a given  rate  of 
progress  Mount  Cenis  will  be  tunneled  through.  These  works 
are  being  done  by  human  forces,  the  power  of  which  we  can 
fairly  estimate.  How  long  it  will  require  for  a man  to  dig 
down  and  carry  away  a given  hill  may  be  easily  calculated. 
How  long  it  requires  an  earthquake  to  do  it  is  not  for  human 
calculation.  How  long  it  will  take  to  do  any  work  of  mere 
human  effort  is  easily  reckoned,  but  with  God  what  seems  the 
work  of  a thousand  years  can  be  compressed  into  a day,  and 
what  is  possible  in  a day  can  be  spread  over  a thousand  years. 

I would  fain  have  you  clear  and  satisfied  in  your  judgment  as 
to  the  correctness  of  the  interpretation  now  given.  There  are  but 
two  ways  in  which  the  words  can  be  understood,  namely,  literal 
or  symbolical.  Suppose  we  take  them  literally.  Then  the 
prophet  assures  us  that  the  inconsiderable  eminence  crowned  by 
the  temple  is  to  shoot  up  and  over-top  Alps  and  Himalayas ! and 
this  new  and  astounding  freak  of  physical  geography  will  touch 
the  consciences  of  men  and  attract  them  to  the  place  for  worship ! 
This  literal  interpretation  Edward  Irving  was  “ far  from  slight- 
ing,” for  most  respectable  persons  held  it,  but  he  did  not 
venture  so  far,  rather  thinking  with  the  best  Jewish  Rabbis 
that  the  elevation  is  moral,  and  refers  to  the  honor  and  high 
esteem  in  which  men  will  hold  the  divine  service.  There  is 
no  escape  from  the  anomalies  and  incongruities  in  which  such 
a literalism  would  land  us,  but  in  the  interpretation  that 
makes  this  and  all  such  delineations  symbolical.  And  so 
we  can  see  with  what  propriety  the  prophet  Ezekiel  (xvii. 
22,  23,)  represents  the  lowly  Jesus  as  “a  tender  twig”  (“the 
rod  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,”  of  Isaiah  xi.  1.)  planted  “upon  an 
high  mountain  and  eminent  on  the  mountain  of  the  height  of 
Israel,”  and  becoming  a goodly  cedar  under  which  shall  dwell 
“ all  fowl  of  every  wing,  in  the  shadow  of  the  branches  thereof 
shall  they  dwell.”  For  if  any  rule  of  prophetic  interpretation 


7 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

is  well  established  and  sure,  it  is,  that  predictions  delivered  in 
one  dispensation,  and  falling  to  be  fulfilled  in  another,  are  to  be 
interpreted  according  to  the  genius  and  distinctive  character  of 
the  dispensation  within  which  their  fulfilment  comes.  The  “ in- 
cense and  pure  offering”  of  Malachi  (i.  7.)  to  be  rendered  to 
the  Lord  by  the  Gentiles  from  east  to  west,  are  not  surely  the 
rites  in  which  Ritualism  copies  Rome,  but  the  sacrifices  of 
praise  and  service  of  the  New  Testament  Church  (Heb.  xiii. 
15,  16.)  ‘‘with  which  God  is  well  pleased.” 

(2.)  When  shall  this  establishment  take  place  ? At  the  time 
when  Isaiah  issued  this  prediction  the  kingdom  was  limited  to 
the  Holy  Land.  The  future  history  of  the  Church  was  divided 
by  the  Jewish  prophets  into  two  periods,  one  before  the  Mes- 
siah’s coming,  and  one  after.  They  never  anticipated  any  ex- 
tension of  the  Church  beyond  the  boundaries  of  Judea  until  the 
Messiah’s  coming.  But  all  the  period  after  that  they  call  “ the 
last  days.”  They  do  not  use  this  phrase  in  a particular  but  in 
a general  sense.  The}'  do  not  mean  by  it  the  closing  years  of 
the  world’s  history — the  last  century  or  the  last  few  centuries. 
All  the  time  subsequent  to  Christ’s  coming  is  “ the  last  days.” 
(Heb.  i.  2.)  Eighteen  centuries  of  the  last  days  have  run  their 
round.  We  have  seen  the  patriarchal  dispensation,  then  the 
Jewish,  then  the  Christian,  and  if  there  be  any  other,  prophecy 
is  silent  on  the  point.  “ Little  children,”  said  John,  (1  John 
ii.  18.)  “it  is  the  last  time,”  1800  years  ago.  There  shall 
never  be  another  form' of  God’s  rule  than  that  now  introduced. 
The  little  stone  does  not  become  silver  or  gold,  or  undergo  any 
change  of  texture  or  substance  ; growth  in  size  is  the  only  al- 
teration of  which  it  is  the  subject.  Our  lot  is  in  the  last  days. 
How  far  they  may  run  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  say.  “The 
times  and  the  seasons  God  hath  reserved  in  his  own  power 
but  sometime  during  this  closing  dispensation  the  kingdom  of 
the  Saviour  shall  have  prominence  and  pow'er  above  all  the 
kingdoms  and  institutions  of  earth,  in  fact  u the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  sh^Jl  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord.”  And,  if  men 
would  but  consider,  is  there  not  something  very  awakening  in 
this  view  of  things  ? “ It  is  the  last  time.”  Sinners  out  of 


8 


Ihe  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 


Christ ! there  can  be  no  greater  facilities  than  we  have  now 
for  being  saved.  No  better  opportunities  are  to  come.  No 
more  light  is  to  be  furnished.  No  easier  terms  are  to  be  pro- 
pounded to  you.  God  the  Father  dealt  with  our  race  in  the  day 
when  He  created  us.  But  men  sinned.  God  the  Son  came  in 
fulfilment  of  gracious  promise.  “The  world  knew  him  not.” 
He  was  crucified  and  slain.  He  ascended  to  his  Father  and 
sent  down  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  now  pleads  with  men,  bears 
witness  to  Christ,  and  deals  with  us  for  the  carrying  out  of  the 
provisions  of  the  covenant.  This  is  the  last  form  of  Divine  ap- 
proach. There  is  no  fourth  person  of  the  Godhead  to  deal 
with  our  race.  If  we  blaspheme  and  reject  this  Divine  Spirit 
who  bears  witness  to  Christ,  the  one  only  High  Priest,  “ there 
remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin,”  and  there  awaits  men  no 
new  form  of  offered  deliverance. 

(3.)  And  what  is  the  mode  of  enlargement  ? It  never  occurred 
to  the  Jews  of  our  Lord’s  time,  that  a church  could  grow  up 
independent  of  and  outside  Palestine  and  their  own  tribes. 
“ Will  he  go  unto  the  dispersed  among  the  Gentiles,  and  teach 
the  Gentiles  ?”  said  they,  half  in  wonder,  half  in  scorn,  (John  vii. 
35),  when  He  told  them  that  they  should  seek  him  and  not 
find  Him.  But  He  did  intimate  in  many  ways  his  kindly  in- 
tentions towards  the  Gentiles.  The  Roman  Centurion's  faith 
he  appreciated  and  commended.  So  did  he  with  the  Svrophoe- 
nician  woman.  The  Jews  believed  the  Gentile  nations  to  be 
seventy  in  number,  from  finding  seventy  heads  of  families  and 
founders  of  nations  mentioned  in  Gen.  x.  In  relation  appar- 
ently to  this  supposed  number  of  Gentile  nations,  Christ  took 
seventy  of  his  disciples  and  sent  them  out  to  preach  ; as  He 
had  twelve  chosen  in  relation  to  the  tribes  of  Israel.  If  ever 
the  thought  entered  a Jewish  mind  regarding  the  spread  of 
Christ’s  kingdom  he  looked  for  accessions  to  the  Jewish  nation. 
But  the  Lord,  while  giving  the  Jews  the  first  offer,  was  far 
from  restricting  the  Gospel  to  them.  “ Go  ye  into  all  the 
world;”  Out  of  Zion  went  the  law.  “ Beginning  at  Jerusalem,” 
was  the  order  : “ to  the  end  of  the  earth  ” was  the  limit.  Where 
Christ  suffered  death — where  his  name  was  cast  out  as  evil — 


9 


77(5  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

where  his  enemies  if  they  could  prove  anything  against  Ilim 
might  best  do  it,  there,  in  the  honored  metropolis  of  Judea  and 
Judaism  is  the  Christian  Church  first  set  up,  and  the  mother 
church  of  the  nations  planted.  Such  honor  did  God  put  on 
Jerusalem.  “ Out  of  it  went  the  law,  and  from  it  the  word  of 
the  Lord.”  Hence  the  apostle  Paul  speaks  of  the  Church  (Eph. 
i.  20,)  as  being  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  being  the  Chief  Corner  Stone  ; and  in  the 
delineation  of  the  new  Jerusalem  in  Rev.  xxi.,  the  names  of 
the  twelve  apostles  are  inscribed  on  the  foundations  of  the  city. 

The  apostles  had  no  successors.  They  died  one  by  one,  but  not 
until  they  had  communicated  the  divine  fire  to  whole  commu- 
nities. Antioch,  Ephesus,  Athens,  Corinth,  Rome, — all  have 
heard  the  Gospel.  In  all  it  has  found  believers.  And  now 
the  nations  evangelize  one  another.  It  is  not  merely  Jews 
bringing  Gentiles  into  the  Church.  What  Jerusalem  and  Zion 
were  to  the  Hebrew,  his  Church  has  now  become  to  the 
Christian.  He  calls  it  his  Zion  ; we  do  so  still.  Go  to  Eng- 
land and  Wales,  and  you  shall  see  “Zions,”  and  “ Bethels,” 
and  “ Bethesdas,”  and  “Jerusalems,”  written  over  the  doors  of 
Christian  churches  where  is  offered  worship  as  truly  of  the 
New  Testament  type  as  anywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
The  nations  shall  say,  “ Come  ye  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob  ; and 
he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths  : 
for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem.”  They  teach  one  another.  The  blessed 
impulse  communicates  itself,  and  nations  that  used  to  challenge 
each  other  to  bloodshed,  or  to  stimulate  each  other  to  crime, 
now  call  to  each  other,  by  men,  by  books,  to  come  and  worship 
the  Lord.  And  see  how  true  and  scriptural  is  the  message  they 
bear  to  each  other  ! “ Come  ....  he  will  teach  us  of  his 
ways.”  They  are  wise  enough  to  expect  just  the  teaching  He 
undertakes  to  give — not  philosophy  or  historj",  or  political 
economy,  not  science  of  any  kind,  but  “of  his  ways” — of 
truth,  love,  righteousness,  of  peace,  of  purity,  of  holiness.  This 
the  Lord  teaches,  and  they  learn  for  a practical  purpose, 


10 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 


“ and  we  will  walk  in  bis  paths.”  This  purpose  gives  interest 
to  all  bearing.  If  you  met  Dr.  Livingstone  and  beard  him  de- 
scribe the  route  through  the  portion  of  Africa  he  has  traversed 
it  would  deepen  your  interest  greatly  if  you  were  at  once  to 
set  out  to  traverse  it  yourself.  You  would  say,  “I  have  to 
take  this  route  myself ; let  me  know  it  thoroughly.”  You 
profess  to  value  practical  preaching.  You  do  not  probably 
always  know  what  it  is  ; but  here  I commend  to  your  imitation 
this  practical  plan,  “ He  will  teach  and  we  will  walk.” 

Large  portions  of  the  race  over  whom  Christ  judges — whom 
He  controls — whose  opinions  He  forms,  whose  conduct  He 
shapes,  have  been  wonderfully  preserved.  How  different  it  is 
where  Christ  judges  not!  The  Indian  lays  him  down  to  sleep 
with  his  spear,  like  Saul’s  in  the  camp,  stuck  beside  his  head — 
ready  to  his  hand  if  a foe  should  attack  him  in  his  sleep.  In 
many  Eastern  lands  an  armed  man  accompanies  the  farmer 
as  he  sows  his  seed,  to  prevent  its  being  violently  taken  away  ; 
and  not  only  does  mutual  strife  prevail,  it  is  strife  of  the 
most  atrocious  and  remorseless  kind.  Who  forgets,  that  has 
read  them,  the  spirited  words  of  old  Lord  Chatham,  when 
denouncing  the  proposed  employment  of  the  Indians  in  the 
British  service  in  this  land,  when  he  described  “ the  mas- 
sacres of  the  Indian  scalping  knife — and  the  cannibal  savage 
torturing,  murdering,  devouring,  drinking  the  blood  of  his 
mangled  victim  ?”  Where  Christianity  has  gone  it  has  dried 
up  the  stream  of  human  gore,  in  many  instances  preserving 
tribes  from  sheer  extermination. 

I am  aware  you  may  point  to  singular  and  apparently  decis- 
ive examples  against  this.  You  may  bid  me  look  to  the  recent 
bloodshed  in  this  land.  You  may  point  me  to  the  Thirty  Years’ 
War  of  the  Continent  and  other  struggles  between  profess- 
edly Christian  nations.  You  may  point  me  to  atrocious  outrages 
such  as  French  arms  seem  to  have  perpetrated  on  the  poor  de- 
fenceless Potynesians  ; but  it  is  not  Christianity,  but  the  want 
of  it,  that  docs  this.  It  has  been  said,  indeed,  that  the  bloodiest 
wars  have  been  religious  wars  ; but  who  wrould  allege  that 
Christ’s  kingdom  caused  them?  Violent  resistance  to  it  has 


11 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

sometimes  produced  them,  and  in  this  sense  Christ  came  to 
send  a sword  on  the  earth.  But  in  so  far  as  his  rule  is 
owned  and  his  scepter  obeyed,  peace  prevails,  as  beautifully 
described  by  the  words  “ they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plow- 
shares, and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  and  this  rule  will 
yet  become  universal,  and  a parliament  of  nations  will  adjust  dif- 
ferences as  truly  and  justly  as  law-courts  now  settle  our  minor 
internal  disputes.  We  do  not  dream  of  this,  or  hope  for  it, 
but  believe  in  it,  and  expect  it.  It  is  as  certain  as  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  as  certain  as  the  general  judgment.  There 
is  no  evidence  for  one  that  does  not  hold  good  for  the  other,  and 
the  belief  of  this  is  to  influence  us  now.  The  prophet  in  view 
of  all  this  cannot  but  call  to  Israel  and  Judah  “ come  ye  in 
and  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,”  (v.  5.)  Since  he 
will  do  this,  since  his  sway  will  be  so  general,  and  so  gracious, 
since  even  Gentiles  shall  come  to  value  and  love  it,  do  ye,  0 
House  of  Jacob,  come  and  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Lord  ; let 
us  be  devout,  pure,  close-walking,  and  holy.  Precisely  so 
ought  the  view  of  the  future  to  influence  us,  to  stimulate  us  to 
personal  holiness  and  to  Christian  activity. 

This  event  is  certain.  It  is  no  great  matter  practically  to 
me  whether  it  be  ten  years,  or  a hundred,  or  ten  thousand 
hence.  The  result  is  certain,  and  I should  like  to  have  some 
share  in  bringing  it  about.  When  Englishmen  first  set  foot  on 
India,  who  could  have  predicted  that  in  a century  from  the 
battle  of  Plassy,  the  peninsula  should  be  theirs  ? Small  suc- 
cessive bands  of  men  fought,  and  ruled,  and  administered, 
and  died,  but  the  subjugating  process  went  forward  ; so  bands 
of  Christian  laborers  toil  and  die,  but  the  results  accumulate 
towards  the  great  consummation. 

Then  O sinner,  what  stand  do  you  mean  to  take  towards  the 
Head  of  this  kingdom?  Do  you  mean  to  resist  Him?  Oh! 
why  should  you  when  He  comes  to  you  as  Prince  of  peace  and 
invites  you  to  peace  ? Yield  yourself  up  to  God  through  Christ. 
His  love  to  you  is  attested  by  his  cross.  It  saves  you  ; not 
your  feeble,  imperfect  love  to  Him.  Oh,  come  and  believe  Him, 
and  the  salvation  of  his  people  shall  be  yours.  Earthly 


12 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

powers  have  often  tried  to  bring  men  under  control  with  vio- 
lence and  blood  ; Christ  wishes  you  to  be  His,  and  it  is  by  blood 
also  ; but  0 sinner ! it  is  by  His  own — the  blood  of  the 
Captain  of  your  salvation,  shed  for  your  ransom  and  deliver- 
ance ! 

And  you  who  have  received  Him  and  come  into  his  king- 
dom, seek  to  walk  in  the  spirit  of  it.  Be  loving,  gentle,  chari- 
table and  peaceful.  I know  how  many  strifes,  divisions,  and 
heartburnings  can  be  pointed  to,  all  under  color  of  religion  ; 
but  you  know  it  is  not  religion  but  the  want  of  it  that  produces 
these  ; or  when  motives  are  sincere  and  character  pure,  the 
want  of  that  “ sound  mind  ” which  the  spirit  of  God  is  able 
and  willing  to  give.  Oh!  try  to  “walk  in  the  light  of  the 
Lord  ” so  that  in  your  measure  and  place  you  may  promote  the 
interests  of  that  kingdom  which  is  righteousness,  peace,  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Let  me  in  urging  this  general  obligation,  say  something 
of  your  privilege  in  connection  with  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missious  of  our  church.  I have  had  opportunity  through 
the  kindness  of  the  Secretary  to  look  at  the  proof-sheets 
of  the  forthcoming  Report,  and  I notice  with  much  grati- 
tude to  God,  that  while  all  the  ground  occupied  any- 
where is  held,  in  some  quarters  new  stations  have  been 
opened,  not  so  much  from  new  facilities  at  home,,  as  from  the 
natural  growth  of  the  work  under  the  Divine  blessing ; and 
now  a difficulty  has  to  be  faced  by  the  Board.  The  children 
of  the  church  raised  a considerable  sum,  and  carried  the 
Board  over  the  immediate  obligations  of  the  year,  but  the 
high  rate  of  exchange  continues,  and  there  is  a necessary  and 
inevitable  debt  which  will  make  it  necessary  to  contract 
operations  abroad  if  there  be  not  some  enlargement  of  gifts 
at  home.  There  will  be  lacking,  say  thirty  thousand  dollars — 
the  cost  of  a house  here — and  for  the  lack  of  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  will  have  to  direct  the  Board  to  recall  some 
missionaries,  close  up  some  schools,  and  explain  to  the  people 
that  the  Christians  of  the  United  States  can  buy  and  pay  for 
enormous  territories  for  themselves,  but  cannot  afford  to  give 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom.  JS 

them  any  more  Gospel  teaching,  and  win  wider  territories  for 
Christ!  Is  this  to  he  done?  Who  would  like  to  make  this 
explanation  ? Where  will  the  Board  begin  this  work  of  dis- 
graceful retrenchment  ? With  the  missions  to  the  Indians  in 
the  Omaha  region  ? Why,  all  the  world  has  joined  in  lauding 
the  enterprise  that  has  sent  the  locomotive  to  break  the  silence 
of  these  far-off  plains.  Shall  we  have  to  complain  that  the  Rail- 
way Companies  can  get  funds  enough  for  their  undertaking,  but 
that  Christians  are  doubtful  if  money  is  well  invested  in 
christianizing  Indians  ? 

No,  we  must  go  elsewhere  ; shall  it  be  to  India  then?  But 
there  never  was  so  favorable  a condition  of  affairs  in  India  as 
there  is  now.  The  mutiny  of  ten  years  ago  which,  at  first 
it  was  thought,  would  put  an  end  to  all  missionary  work  there, 
has  given  it  a new  impulse.  If  it  stopped  conversions  abroad, 
for  the  minds  of  men  were  naturally  excited,  it  effected  many 
a happy  change  at  home.  Rhapsodical  sceptics  had  talked  of 
the  mild  and  gentle  Hindoo,  and  discouraged  evangelistic 
efforts.  They  changed  their  minds  as  they  read  the  real 
character  of  Hindooism  in  the  slaughter  of  sons,  brothers, 
and  sisters  at  Cawnpore  and  Delhi. 

Then  shall  we  contract  operations  in  China,  that  dead  sea  of 
human  souls,  at  which  we  used  to  look  in  hopeless  despair,  won- 
dering who  was  to  send  the  Gospel  ship  through  the  sluggish 
waters?  But  God  interposed  rebellion,  and  internal  strife 
broke  up  the  masses,  destroyed  monopolies  of  power,  called 
attention  to  the  foreigners  and  their  ways,  and  now  when 
China  aud  Japan  are,  in  open  defiance  of  all  their  time-honored 
traditions,  holding  out  their  hands  to  Christendom,  is  Christen- 
dom to  be  indifferent  ? These  children  of  the  older  semi-civi- 
lizations ask  us — whom  the  Gospel  has  made  strong  and  power- 
ful— for  bread  ; shall  we  give  them  a stone  ? They  make 
treaties  with  us  now.  Shall  we  tell  them  nothing  of  the 
covenant  of  grace  ? God  has  been  giving  to  English  and 
American  missionaries  more  real  success  there  than  in  almost 
any  other  field.  Shall  we  hold  back?  No:  let  us  pray  and 
believe — and  let  us  move  in  the  direction  of  our  prayers-  that 


14 


The  Future  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 


the  silver  and  the  gold  shall  be  given  for  the  maintainance 
of  these  noblest  enterprises  to  which  we  can  put  our  hands. 
Christians ! let  us  remember  that  Christ  still  sits  over 
against  the  treasury ; and  let  us  remember  that  our  perish- 
able money  put  into  his  hand  in  the  right  spirit,  becomes 
transmuted  into  treasure  in  heaven  and  fashioned  into  incor- 
ruptible crowns. 


